Aspiring Illustrator: Emilie Darlington as flammejumelle

Emilie Darlington is a second-year Visual Arts student at the University of Ottawa. What makes her our newest Campus Celebrity? She sells her art online, and recently sold an original print to a University committee. An accomplished artist at nineteen, Emilie’s creativity and flair for business has given her a great head start on the art world. 

When asked about her favorite work, Emilie laughs and tells me that every time she works on a new piece, she tells her boyfriend that it’s her “new favorite”. “Every time I do something new, I put something unique into it,” she says. While all of Emilie’s art has a distinct signature style to it, every piece is a little different.Growing up on a farm, Emilie cites nature as a primary influence in her art. So what is this farm girl from small-town Ontario doing at uOttawa? The Fine Arts program at uOttawa is small but thriving, and Emilie is specializing in drawing. An aspiring illustrator, Emilie has forgone the traditional university part-time positions in lieu of something a little more exciting and creative.

Pursuing art has never been a question in Emilie’s life. A passion that began by participating in local art shows in high school has become the way that this 19-year-old makes her living.  Emilie started on society6.com, an online collective art gallery, but has since moved to a Facebook page – flammejumelle. Through this page, Emilie sells original artwork, as well as prints of her artwork, and iPhone and computer cases. While originals are definitely more expensive, prints and accessories are more affordable, and society6 often has deals with free shipping (there is currently an offer that expires on midnight of Nov. 17th).

Eventually, Emilie wants to be a freelance children’s book illustrator because it means that she can live anywhere she wants, possibly back on the farm close to the nature that she takes so much of her inspiration from. U Ottawa’s definitely lucky to have Emilie, who chose our university over every other Fine Arts program in the province (and a few out of province), simply because she loved the feel of our campus. 

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